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Please help identify this niello case. It has АД as the silversmith, 84 with left facing kokoshnik, АР as the assayer. The dimensions are 7.5 cm Length, 2.2 cm width, 0.5 cm thickness. The weight is 10.4 grams.









My research shows the silversmith to be Александр Дальман (Alexander Dalman) who worked in St. Petersburg from 1880-1905, #1203 in Postnikova.
The kokoshnik appears to be #3882 in Postnikova. Assayer is А. Рихтера (A. Retera) 1898-1903.
I have three requests. First, are the hallmarks real or fake? Second, is my research correct about the hallmarks? Third, what was this item used for?

Description of pictures:
#1 Side view of case showing niello design and ЯлтА (Yalta).
#2 Silversmiths hallmark АД.
#3 Kokoshnik 84, left facing kokoshnik with АР.
#4 Two hallmarks near opening.

Hi silvercollector99 -

your research is 100% correct, all the marks and the object are authentic! Your object is the handle of a pageturner, souvenir from Jalta. See enclosed photos, one from another Dalman page turner.





Regards
Zolotnik

Hi -

forgot to wrrite: the assayer is A. Richter!

Regards
Zolotnik

Thank you Zolotnik,

Is a pageturner used for the Torah, Bible or another book? How long are the pageturners?

Hi -

a pageturner is something you used to turn pages! In contors, at your home etc. It was also used as page marker or to tear pages from books, agendas and notebooks. Nothing religious!

Length differs between 25 cm and 35 cm.

Regards
Zolotnik

Hi -

page turner were made out of different materials: silver, tortie, enamel, Karelian birch, ivory etc.
Some from my collection:



Regards
Zolotnik

A minor amendment. There is an fatal error in Postnikova regarding #3882. The mentioned assayer "A. Riktera" (also a fatal translation error) does not assay or even exist in St Petersburg. The correct assayer is Aleksandr Vasillievitsh Romanov, in Cyrillic AP, who assayed in St Petersburg 1904(5)-1912. However, this A.Riktera whose correct name is by the way Anton Richter assayed in Astrakhan 1898-1916. He was never in St Petersburg but his initials were also AP. Well maybe he visited St Petersburg but under no circumstances he assayed there.
In addition, please read completely the text with #3882 especially the second last line, the name, and also note that the ending letter "A" is a suffix indicating Genitive case in the Russian language.

Have a nice evening
Qrt.S